


Love is Blind

by Caliginous_Confused



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Also Ana is a total ace wingman, Blind Jack, Featuring Soldier the Guide Dog, M/M, Modern AU, Told mostly from Jack's perspective, Will add tags as they seem approperiate, but not sure yet, from strangers to lovers, might be some frick frack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2018-12-08 09:10:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11643408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caliginous_Confused/pseuds/Caliginous_Confused
Summary: Jack just moved into Los Angeles at the suggestion of his friend Ana Amari who not only just genuinely wants to live closer to her old College friend, also because there are some alternative more romantic reasons for dragging the blind farm boy from Indiana to California which she takes no time to start enacting. Jack is having a rough time adapting to city life, and Ana knows just the person to help show him around.





	1. Chapter 1

Jack hated moving. Not only did he had to figure out how his new apartment was laid out, where he kept everything in the new space, but he had to figure out what streets were and how to get to key places, like the grocery store if he needed to between trips he had planned with his friend Ana, where she lived, and where work was.

It was a needed change, he was tired of living in Indiana. His family worked corn fields and he wasn’t exactly fit to work in the fields. Eventually he learned the feel between corn and weeds, but his parents didn’t want to chance him slowing down their production so they happily sent him to college, and he worked as an advisor for the city making sure that places were friendly for people with disabilities for a time before he finally let one of his best friends convince him to move to Los Angeles.

Luckily, he wasn’t making this transition alone. He had a Golden Retriever called Soldier who served as his guide dog. Not only was he a huge help in getting him settled into this new environment through leading him to the busy streets, but he was always there for a good cuddle when the harness came off.

Right now, his phone was sending him in circles, he figured it was because of how the streets were laid out. This wasn’t anything he wasn’t unprepared for, he was used to finding random people on the street to ask them where he was. From what he could tell, there were a lot of cars around him. In comparison to Indiana, no one really thought twice about why he would be walking with a dog in a harness here. He had been brought to a few sudden stops as people cut him off as he was walking both by other pedestrians and by cars. All in all, it was pretty disorientating.

A warm low voice was heard to his left after he had crossed a street. He waited a moment for his phone to tell him which way to go next, but nothing came. Instead he heard the voice sigh and continue on with his conversation. “Look, I don’t need to get laid, I’m fine!” he sighed in exasperation. Jack turned toward the voice and waited for the conversation to end. “Goodbye. Yes, I’ll drop by after work.”

“Excuse me. I’m sorry, but my phone is being slow. Can you tell me how far I need to go before my turn?” he asked before holding his phone screen out. “I can’t exactly see it.” There was a pause, the person probably looking at his guide dog and then at him. He briefly wondered how close he was to actually be “looking” at this person but in the end, it was more of a curiosity based on how good his hearing was in comparison.

“You’ve got about a quarter mile in the way you are headed. Do you need any help? I’m on break.”

“Nah, I got this, thank you!” He waved to the person and turned toward his dog and told him to go forward. He smiled and started walking where he was told to. He felt his dog slow down a few times as he walked. Once he got to where he was going he turned and headed into a building.

“Alright Soldier, find the elevator.” The dog looked around and lead him to a wall and sat down. Jack felt along the wall and tried to figure out which button went up. Luckily, the building only had an up button on the ground floor, so this part was easy. He pressed the button and waited, listening as a few other people came inside.

“What floor?” asked a voice calmly, no doubt wanting to help.

“Uhm, 10 please,” he said as he told his dog to sit. “Thank you. Also for future reference for me, are the buttons on the left or right?”

“Right.”

“Cool, thanks.” He leaned back against the wall as he felt the elevator ride up, speeding up before slowing down.

“This is floor 6, your stop is next. Have a nice day.”

“You too.” He nodded as the other passenger left the elevator. Jack hummed and reached down to scratch Soldier behind the ears. “I should’ve seen if you had business to tend to before heading up here huh? Ah well, I am sure Fareeha or Ana will be happy to help us out.”

The elevator dinged and he ran his hand along the number, reading the brail. He smiled at the correct number and started walking straight, finding another sign that told him which rooms were which way before turning down the appropriate hallway. Once he was in the right range of numbers he narrowed down which side the hall his friend lived on and stopped at every door until he found her home.

“Bingo,” he said smiling as he knocked on the door. He waited a few moments before hearing the door open.

“Found the place I see,” Ana said with a clear smile in her voice.

“I am glad one of us can do that. How has your day been?”

“I have been good, please come in Jack.” He waited until he heard Ana move before he walked in with Soldier. He paused smelling the warmth of Ana’s home. It was a mixture of spices he couldn’t even begin pronouncing, and playdough. Mostly playdough. “Have any trouble?”

“Other than GPS crapping out at one point so I had to ask some random guy with a really warm voice where my turn was. He seemed pissed off, but man he had one of those voices.” Jack laughed as he was lightly smacked on the arm.

“You should’ve asked him to coffee!” Ana teased. Jack rubbed his arm as Soldier moved to stand between them.

“Aww boy, it’s okay.” He reached down and scratched behind his ears. “And Ana, it’s fine. No one wants to go have coffee with the blind guy. You have to read me the menu. Unless it’s Starbucks, I think I can handle it. Anyways. I am going to sit down.”

“Go ahead. I’ll get us some tea and once Fareeha tells you about her sculptures, she wanted to make art you could see.” Jack nodded. “After we talk, how about we go to lunch?”

“I’d appreciate that. I have food in my backpack. If you don’t mind I’d like to give Soldier some water here before we leave.”

“Go ahead Jack. I have a child there’s nothing your trained dog can do that is more destructive than a 5-year-old.” Jack nodded and told Soldier to find a couch. The dog led him through a minefield of toys and other objects before sitting. Jack congratulated the dog, shrugged off his backpack and sat down.

“Uncle Jack!” called a child as she ran out from her room and jumped onto the cushion next to him.

“Hey girlie, give me a second. I need to give Soldier some water and then you can show me the art your mom was telling me all about.”

“Okay!”

Having been around Jack before, she understood that Soldier was a helper to Jack, that he saw what Jack can’t see and as long as he was wearing his vest, he was working. There were times where Jack will let Soldier out of his vest so that the two could play. First and foremost, the dog was a service dog, but if asked to go to the park so that the small child could play with her surrogate pet Jack wouldn’t say no. He’d have conversation with Ana and Soldier was basically another parent to the child, keeping them both out of the streets and out of trouble while they played.

Jack pulled out a bowl and set it on the ground before taking out a bottle of water. Placing his hand around the rim of the bowl he poured water into it, stopping when it reached one of his fingers and capped the bottle. “Go ahead, drink up.” He nodded toward the dog and listened as he drank. “Now, I believe I have some sculptures to see.”

The child next to him giggled. “You won’t see them Uncle Jack. You’ll feel them.”

“But I see with my hands, like you see with your eyes.” He turned slightly toward Ana’s footsteps as she placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a cup of tea. He took the cup and held out his other hand toward the sound of the child to his left. “Lay it on me kiddo.” There was the cool feel of semi-dry playdough in his hands. He gingerly turned the object around in his hand, feeling for the details. There was a round body, a head, some floppy ears “A….dog? Is this Soldier?”

“Yup! What about this one?” The dog was taken out of his hand and another object replaced it. He frowned as he moved to put the tea down so he could use his other hand. With just one hand he could only see that it was a round object of some kind, any other detail was lost on him.

“It feels like….a flower.”

“Yup! One more!” He kept his hands out as a final object was placed in his hands. He felt it around and just felt a bunch of bumps. He frowned and turned the object around and felt nothing. He hummed and focused on the bumps.

“A smiley face?”

“It’s me!” the child said giving Jack enough time to sit back as she threw herself into his arms and hugged him. He chuckled and hugged her back.

“Fareeha why don’t you go clean up your toys and get dressed. I’ll tell Jack about the party and then we’ll get lunch.”

“Okay!” She took her sculpture back and movement was heard through the room as Jack turned his head toward the sound of Ana’s voice as he picked up his tea.

“Party?” He took a drink of the tea and sat back as Ana hummed, probably taking a drink herself.

“To welcome you to the neighborhood of sorts. I have a few friends I think you’d like to meet and this is just an easy way to get you some quick friends.” Jack sighed and shook his head.

“Ana you are too transparent. Who is he?”

“Not getting a peep out of me.” There was a moment of silence before Jack frowned.

“Did you just zip your lips? Ana! You know I can just refuse to come right?”

“And I can bring the party to you.” There was the sound of Ana’s clothes rustling as she presumably shrugged. “Take your pick Morrison.”

“Fuck…” He sighed. “Fine, I’ll come. No more than 10 people okay. I don’t want to be overwhelmed.”

“There’s only gonna be 5 calm down. You already know a few of them.” There was some more sounds, a gesture to go with what she said, probably waving his worries off, as if it could be that easy. “If it is too much, I will personally send one of my most trusted friends to walk you home.”

“Not the guy you’re trying to set me up with!”

“Party pooper.”

“That’s me.”


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of the visit to Ana’s apartment went well. They had a nice lunch, came back and allowed Fareeha to play a little with Soldier once he got his harness off, letting Jack roam around the house with his cane. It was warm and welcoming. Eventually, he made it back to his home where he did the same thing, lightly tapping along with his cane as he slowly learned the layout of the apartment.

He knew that this feeling of uncertainty surrounding him wouldn’t last long, by the time the party rolled around at the end of the week he would easily be able to walk around his home without the cane. However, for the few days where he had to rely on either it, or Soldier, to do something as small as go to the bathroom to relieve himself sucked. Thankfully, his job was willing to work with him when he told them that he wanted to learn the layout of his house and neighborhood before he started work, so he had the week off as he was grounding himself.

Sounds and smells guided him. He knew that half-way between his apartment and Ana’s there was a playground where he heard children laugh, and scream as they played regardless of the time of day. He knew that 3 blocks from that there was a flower shop that always seemed to have fresh flowers out. If he turned around the corner of the flower shop there was a nice café that smelled like freshly baked bread and had amazing pie. He was slowly getting there.

He sighed as he finished buttoning his shirt and smoothed out the collar. A semi-nice button down that Ana said he should wear because he “looked nice in it.” He told her that he wasn’t going to wear it, that her ploy to get him up on a blind date, both literally and metaphorically, was a lost cause. He was more focused on getting comfortable, and romance was the last item on the list. Of course, her response was to ask him the last time he got laid, a bit too long for him to want to admit, but he stood his ground on the phone.

Standing in his bedroom on the other hand, he found himself instead standing there wondering why he shouldn’t take his best friend’s advice. Matchmaking aside, she hasn’t lead him wrong. He did like the shirt, how it felt on him and everyone did always give him compliments on how it looked on him. That part he didn’t understand, but he liked the idea that people found him pleasing to the sense he didn’t have.

He turned toward Soldier and held out his arms. “What do you think?” He listened to the dog huff at him, leading the blind man to chuckle as he ran his hand through his hair, making sure to his hands it felt decent and hoping that translated to how he looked. He walked out of the room and made sure the bag he had for Soldier was packed for things he knew he would need, bowls, maybe some food, and a couple of toys. After making sure his cane was in there as well, he then zipped it up and moved to make sure the banana pudding he had literally thrown together was on the counter.

“Soldier, come here boy. We gotta go if we don’t want to be late.” He heard the clicking of the dog’s nails on the tile as he walked over to him. Jack knelt and helped the dog into the harness, feeling the happiness of the dog grow into something more focused. His tail was still wagging, but it wasn’t wagging as much. He was happy to help, but he wasn’t going to let his eagerness to get in the way of his job.

After grabbing everything he needed he moved to grab Soldier’s harness and walked outside, pausing to lock the door and put his keys in his pocket before grabbing the harness again. He had the desert in his other hand. Luckily as far as walks went, Ana wasn’t that far and he was getting pretty good at getting there on his own. Like figuring out his own house, the more he walked there the more familiar he was with the route. He had the gps on his phone ready just in case, but at the very least he knew what street names he needed in order to get there. If he needed to know where he was, all he had to do is ask.

This time, was the first time he didn’t have to ask where he was, other than to reassure himself that he was in fact exactly where he was, and in all honesty, that took away some of the nervousness he had toward going to this party. He knocked on the door once he found the correct one, a wide smile on his face.

“Guess who just got here all by himself without getting lost?” He asked once the door opened. His voice did the gradual crescendo he had associated with excitement, a wide smile spreading across his cheeks.

“Uh, I am guessing you?” asked a hesitant voice that clearly wasn’t Ana. He frowned and furrowed his brow in confusion as he read the brail on the door placard again. He was in the right place. The voice was familiar though, he just couldn’t place where he had heard it.

“Y-yeah…” he said hesitantly as the sound of someone else walking up was heard.

“Gabriel move out of the way! Oh Jack! Please come-in come-in. You’re in the right place, don’t worry,” Ana said, her immediately served to help Jack relax. The familiar sound of his friend’s voice restoring the pride he felt for walking here all by himself. “Jack, you didn’t have to make anything. This is your welcome party.”

The man shrugged as he walked in. The bowl was taken from his hands. “It’s the least I can do, since apparently this is all done to welcome me to the neighborhood.” A scoff was heard to his left along with some light ruffling of someone’s clothes.

“Amari’s always looking for an excuse to bring the gang together, introducing everyone to an old college friend is just her newest excuse,” the new voice -Gabriel – said. His voice, despite being heavily laced with sarcasm, was a warm baritone sound that seemed to pass through Jack to his core. Almost like…

Oh no.

“Jack? Are you okay?” Ana asked. Apparently, his expression turned to something more worrisome. “Why don’t you sit down. You look a little pale.”

“How about I come with you to the kitchen for a glass of water first,” Jack suggested trying to keep his voice steady. This was one of those times he wished he understood body language so he could give these “looks” he’s heard so much about to silently tell Ana that he just realized something important without looking sick….apparently.

“Of course, Excuse us Gabriel, I’ll give you proper introductions after we get him settled.” There was no audible response as the two of them walked into the kitchen. The sound of cabinets opening and closing was heard around him. Running water was followed before the glass was handed to him. “Now, what’s up?”

“Remember the first day I came here and there was Cute Voice who helped me?” Jack asked quietly. “Cute Voice is Gabriel.” There was a long period of silence before Ana said anything. It was during one of these moments that Jack really felt disabled. He couldn’t see her expression, though knowing Ana it was probably a shit-eating grin, but still the silence was deafening.

“Oh?” she finally said failing to keep the smile out of her voice.

“Ana shut-up! Don’t get involved. Why did I even tell you? Great, now you’re just going to tease me about this.” Ana chuckled and lightly patted him on the back.

“I would do no such thing. Come-on let’s introduce you and cute voice formally.” Before Jack could protest he was being led out of the kitchen and back into what he was assuming was the living room. This was confirmed as he sat down in his usual seat on the couch. “Gabriel, this is Jack. We went to school together, and the dog serving as his eyes is Soldier. Jack, this is Gabriel. We had our coffee orders mixed up one day and have been friends ever since.”

“Nice to meet you,” Gabriel said slowly before Jack reached over and shook his hand.

“Likewise.”

There was no mentioning on how Gabriel unintentionally helped him find the apartment he was currently sitting in. A part of Jack wanted Gabriel to bring it up, Jack was under the impression that seeing a face was more memorable than a voice ever could be. Then again, he had no frame of reference. He didn’t want to say something and be wrong.

“So, you’re blind,” Gabriel said clearly feeling awkward as he spoke. Jack smiled and sat back, trying to be welcoming toward the questions. It was better to get them over with.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. I don’t know what seeing is like, born blind.”

“Fuck, this is why Ana has been chuckling.” Jack frowned and turned toward the warm voiced man.

“I have been chuckling, but this is not the reason.”

“Oh bullshit. ‘Oh Gabriel, you’re so grouchy. You need to get laid let me set you out on a blind date. Tee-hee-hee,’” he said purposefully raising his voice in pitch when he was imitating Ana. Jack smiled and chuckled at the two of them.

“She’s been trying to play match-maker with you too?”

“When isn’t she?”

“Oh come-on you boys love me.”

“Don’t test me,” they both said at the same time. Ana opened her mouth to rebuttal when a loud knocking caused Jack to jump. He turned toward the door and took a few deep breaths.

“Well, there’s Reinhardt, and Torbjörn. I’ll get it.”

“Rein’s here?”

“Yeah, he’s a teacher of all things. Kids love him though.”  Jack scoffed as the door opened and a loud bellow from the German. He was heard saying Ana was looking as lovely as ever, followed by another voice telling him to stop with the bad flirting and to just get inside. Jack chuckled a little.

“Reinhardt, you remember Jack.”

“That I do! Hello Morrison!” Jack stood up, knowing that Reinhardt was more of a hugger. He was lifted off the ground. He smiled and tapped his arm signaling he wanted to be set down. He smiled and looked toward the large man. “How have you been old friend!”

“Good, still blind. Soldier is still helping me like he did during school. Who’s your friend? I heard an unfamiliar voice.”

“Torbjörn at your service,” he said. Jack held out his hand toward the voice. “Uh… Little lower if you don’t mind.”

“Oh sorry!” Jack adjusted and then was lightly pulled a little lower as he shook a calloused hand.

“Ahh if you were anyone else, I might give ya a hard time.” There was a hint of good humor in his voice causing Jack to hopefully meet his smile. “Ahh Reyes don’t be such a sour puss. Smile once in a’while.”

“I don’t smile.”

“It’s always a time to smile when meeting new friends!” Jack sat back down moving to take Soldier’s harness off. Fareeha was heard running in once she heard Reinhardt. Jack handed Soldier one of his toys and told him to go play with the child. He reached into his bag and got his cane out and clicked it together in case he needed to go out walking.

The conversation was simply talking about what was going on with everyone’s life. He found out that Reinhardt was teaching math for Sophomores and Juniors in Highschool, and was honestly doing amazing work keeping children behaving. He says it’s all in listening and not belittling their problems. This is something that Jack simply agreed with verbally where, if anyone else responded he assumed they were nodding.

Torbjörn was a mechanic. He was very passionate about his job from what Jack could tell from his tone of voice as he complained on how people took care of their cars, saying that Rein was the worst offender he sees. The German defended himself saying that the car wasn’t as important to him as touching the hearts of America’s youth. There were fake gagging noises coming from the small mechanic in response.

“What about you Gabriel? What do you do?” There was a hum from the man to his left as he shifted, presumably to sit up Jack thought.

“I am a personal trainer down at the gym. Nothin’ worth mentioning.” Jack hummed and pressed his lips together. “What about you?”

“I am an architect, sort of. I have the degree, but my job more or less is helping make sure the designs the company I am working for is friendly for people who have disabilities. Like, the elevator here sucks because now newer buildings have ones that tell you where you are and which way you’re going. Like it would stop on this floor and audibly say ‘Tenth floor, going down’. And that helps a lot for me because I know I’ve pushed the right button, and I can figure out where I am going.”

“Interesting,” Gabriel said quietly as there was another knock. “About time the Lacriox’s got here.”

“Who?”

“The only married couple among us.” That wasn’t helpful at all, but he didn’t say anything. Ana got up and opened the door, welcoming what sounded like two people inside the apartment. Fareeha was heard running toward them, yelling out a name that was covered by the sound of everyone else talking. He was then introduced to Gerard and Amelie Lacriox. They were both doctors at the local hospital. He shook both their hands and then there was the sound of plates.

“Alright guys, time to eat. Jack goes first because he’s the guest of honor.” Jack stood up and used his cane to cross the room, hearing people shuffle their feet out of the way as he passed. Once Ana mentioned him the room grew quiet, the talking was put down to a murmur.

“You guys don’t have to lower your volume, if it was too much I would’ve said something,” Jack said as he found a plate and slowly moved to the food where Ana explained what everything was for him. “I’m blind but I can get around just fine with people talking. Go on.” He then started serving himself. He had tried to keep his voice pleasant, and he had no idea if his face was helping him at all. Either way, he knew it was going to take some of the new people some getting used to, and he was used to having to be patient with everyone.

Dinner was more of the same thing, everyone was talking, catching up only there were pauses so everyone could eat and wine was added. All-in-all it was a good time. There was talk about wanting to meet up with Jack when both parties were free, but no plans were set in stone, nor where there numbers exchanged.

By the end of the get together, Gabriel somehow, probably by Ana, was roped into taking Jack back to his apartment for safety reasons due to the sun dipping below the horizon. The quiet man didn’t refuse to take him. Everyone said that Gabriel was grouchy, but Jack was having a hard time believing it. He seemed more quiet than anything.

“So, are we going to mess with Ana since she is trying to get us together?” Jack asked to get some idle conversation going. Silences made him a little uncomfortable while in an unfamiliar vehicle.

“We could always play along and instead just be close friends.”

“Nuh-uh. I have listened to too many movies where this backfires.” Gabriel chuckled.

“Fair enough. She’s probably counting on that anyways. I don’t know. We can always talk about it over the phone.” Jack considered it.

“That could work. If we text you might want to warn me because I have to use voice for everything. We can also just…not. Knowing Ana just us meeting blind date or not was enough.”

“Oh yeah, the seeds are planted.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jack frowned in confusion.

“She probably thinks that between sitting next together and me describing gestures to help you out is enough to spark some romantic interest between us.” Both men chuckled.

It was true, Gabriel did help him while they were sitting between one another. They also learned that they both had a mutual dislike for sports, and like for soap operas, or anything with a story that wasn’t necessarily centered around violence or explosions. If Ana wasn’t so obvious on her intentions Jack would’ve totally invited Gabriel over for a movie night to watch something.

“Man, if only it was that easy.”

“Right? Hey, if you ever need more directions I’d be happy to help you.” Jack paused and tensed slightly.

“So, you recognize me too.”

“Kind of hard to forget a blind guy whose hair matches his guide dogs fur. Now, let me give you my number. I meant it. I don’t mean it in a flirty way, but I know this place pretty good.” The car came to a stop as Jack pulled out his phone and the two exchanged numbers, both doing their best to not make it awkward by making it seem Ana had won.

Just like that, they arrived at Jack’s apartment. Once he let Ana know he made it home alright, and took care of Soldier, he went to bed. All the new friends he met were nice, Gerard had a weird sense of humor, but that didn’t off put him too much. Gabriel did catch him off guard, he never thought he’d hear that voice again and he wanted to hear it some more. His dry sense of humor and quick jokes really helped him feel more at ease around everyone. He seemed to be that guy that wanted to be a tough guy but in reality, was actually soft. He liked people like that.

Out of everyone at the party, hanging out with Gabriel without the others wouldn’t be too weird for Jack. He just hoped that he felt the same way too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all of the positive feedback from this! Here is another chapter, Word crashing and being a general pain and all. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Just in case this is needed, there is a coded image below, if you have your preferences to where work skins are seen you'll see it, if you go to preferences and turn it off, the image will go away but the text will still be there, just altered to where it is easier for some to read. You can also click "Hide Creator's Style" even if you aren't signed in.   
> Sorry I didn't post this from the beginning and I will try to put a warning before I use the skin again.

Conversation between Jack and  Gabriel Reyes  
  
**Jack:** Gabriel?  
  
**Gabriel:** yeah its me  
  
**Jack:** Cool! Hey, I was wondering. I have been really wanting some good pizza, and I am honestly tired of asking Ana for stuff, mind showing me a good pizza place? I’ll get some beer and we can watch a movie or something  
  
**Gabriel:** ….  
  
**Gabriel:** Just as friends?  
  
**Jack:** Yeah! Yeah of course why wouldn’t it be just as friends?  
  
**Gabriel:** One word.  
  
**Gabriel:** Ana.  
  
**Jack:** Right…  
  
**Jack:** Tuesday work good for you? I can celebrate making it through a few days of work without dying and it itsn’t too short-notice.   
  
**Gabriel:** Works for me.

\---  
It was just pizza. No dating. It wasn’t anything to get excited over. He was just slowly gaining a few friends through her meddling as she tried to get them to go out on a date. Which totally wasn’t happening. Ana totally didn’t know his type. She got him a date with this “Frank” guy back in college. It was honestly one of the worst dates of his life, and he vowed to never let Ana set him up again. So, why was Gabriel different?

It was the fact that they had met up previously, and he had already admitted he found his voice cute. He really liked Gabriel’s deep warm voice, and honestly the only thing he wanted was to hear him laugh, then he might be screwed. At the least, he knew he had a new friend in Gabriel. That was a good thing. Jack needed friends he could count on that weren’t going to meddle in his sex life, existent or not.

The two of them had been texting all week leading to Jack wanting to actually hang out with Gabriel. So, that’s where the pizza question came from. They talked about work, there was some questions on how Jack managed to work for an architecture company, a job that seemed to rely on sight as there were plans to look at. The question was fair and he answered honestly, a mixture of using the speech accessibility option on a computer and having things printed specifically for him with ink that raised the image out of the paper for him to feel. In turn, Jack asked about Gabriel’s job and found out that he really didn’t like it, that he was more or less there because despite not having too many clients he was really only there for the money. He was looking for a new job.

They were most likely going to hang out again at another time because he was a few moments away from redacting Gabriel’s nerd card. The man didn’t know the proper order to watch Star Wars and Jack was determined to show the man that there was a proper way to watch the movies, and it was not in the perceived chronological order, but instead in the order 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, Rogue One, 6, 7. If it was closer to May he would make them watch it on May the fourth. Unfortunately, it was closer to Halloween than it was May. They agreed that they were going to avoid watching them if at all possible. There was the entire selection of Netflix to keep Gabriel away from Start Wars. Not to mention, Jack had a total selection of nerd movies out there to choose from, he just had to keep Gabriel away from 8 of them no problem.

A knock was heard at the door. He called out that the door was opened as he moved to go to the kitchen and started getting a few drinks out and put them on the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room. He heard the door open and the clinking of Soldier’s tags as he ran over to the door.

“Gabriel?” Jack asked when the visitor didn’t say anything.

“Yeah, it’s me sorry,” Gabriel said sheepishly. “Ya know you really shouldn’t just yell your door’s unlocked.” Jack hummed and handed Gabriel a beer before sitting down.

“Yeah well, Soldier would know if they weren’t nice. He’s a smart dog. Saved my life more than once ya know,” he said before taking a drink. “So I was thinking of just ordering in, unless you have this super-secret pizza place that doesn’t deliver.”

“I actually do.” Jack sat up, clearly interested. “It’s only a few blocks from here, we can go get our food and get back before our beers get flat.”

“Soldier, go get your harness boy.” The dog trotted off for a few seconds before coming back. “I am trusting your pizza judgement here Gabe.”

“Don’t call me that, and okay. If the pizza lives up to your standards we’re watching what I want to tonight.”

“Deal, as long as it’s not Star Wars, I am making you watch them in the correct order over a weekend in the not-so-distant-future.” A few snaps were heard as Jack got Soldier in his harness, and Gabriel was heard scoffing. Jack smiled as he stood up, taking hold of the harness. “Ready?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool, when we get out he’ll need a minute, it’s about time for him to go anyways. Then you’re free to take me to the pizza.” Gabriel was quiet for a moment before he voiced that he was okay with the plan. His voice was rushed and apologetic.

It was always the same at first. It took people time to adapt to responding to Jack in a way he could respond without thinking. Jack didn’t mind the first month or so where it was awkwardly dancing around how uncomfortable people were around him. It wasn’t anything that either party did, or didn’t do. It stemmed from the fact that he was different, and needed accommodations. Once he proved that he was completely independent and only needed audio cues for everything and maybe some direction everything would be fine.

The walk to the pizza shop was quiet. Every now and again Jack would ask where they were, but overall it was merely small talk. Gabriel asked how he was adapting to life in LA, and Jack responded that it was a slow transition. He explained how his co-worker gave him a tour of the office but he only had general ideas what they were talking about because he figured they were gesturing toward what they were showing him.

“Wow, and you had Soldier there?” Gabriel asked, his voice dripping in disbelief.

“Yeah, I think they were assuming that because Soldier is my eyes that I could just tell him to take me to the break room and he’d take me there or something,” Jack said with a slight chuckle.

“Can he?”

“No!” Jack smiled and chuckled lightly. “He can get some things like his harness, but he has to be shown where they are and what the object is. Overall, his job is to keep me from running into things and crossing the street when there’s a car coming.”

Gabriel hummed, understanding what Jack was saying. “What do you do outside of work, and apparently watch Star Wars and judge people on what order they watch the movies.” Jack chuckled and stopped with Soldier to cross the street.

“Well, I read books, or well listen to them. I watch a bunch of Youtube as well. I do normal things Gabriel. I work out, I make my own food. I work, and I really like nerd things. I read both DC and Marvel, the pictures are a little lost around me, but I have a blog that I follow that describe what’s going on in the panels.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah the internet has been very nice in making things more accessible for others. When I was a kid, I only experienced a fraction of what I have experienced now.”

They continued talking about what they both enjoyed. Gabriel liked to play video games over the weekend and on his days off. He wasn’t very good at them but Jack jokingly told him that he’d be better than him any day of the week. They found out that they jogged in the same park, and plans to run together as Jack would feel better using multiple sources to help him stay on track rather than just one.

A warmth surrounded Jack as he walked into a building. His nose was almost immediately overwhelmed in the smell of spices he couldn’t name, and flour. A gentle hand patted his shoulder as the sound of quiet footsteps drew away from him. He told Soldier to follow Gabriel to the front of the line. The two of them ordered their pizzas, each one made special for the two of them.

“So have you decided on a movie yet?” Jack asked as they waited for them to bake.

“I was thinking of Jurassic World, unless you have another nerd rule against watching those out of order.” Jack chuckled and shook his head at the light teasing.

“No, I don’t. It’s only Star Wars I have that nerd rule with.”

“Why Star Wars?”

“Other than the opening that I need to have read to me, normally by the internet, it sounds really cool and it’s a really good story, if you experience it in the right way.” He almost wanted to say that he really wanted to hear the opening of the movies read to him by Gabriel and his really nice voice, but that seemed too much like flirting and he felt they were already dancing that line enough as it was.

“And the right way is your way.”

“Duh.” Gabriel scoffed at Jack who smiled at him. “I have Jurassic World so, I can get us plates while you get the movie, they’re alphabetized. Otherwise I’d never find what I am looking for.”

“Understandable. Sounds like a plan. Do you have cheese at your place?”

“I think so…I’d ask for some just in case. If I did it’d take me a while to find it. I am still learning the layout of my kitchen. My organization is similar to what it was but I had to make some modifications and I am having to break habits I spent 24 years building.”

“Right. Alright. I just saw them pull out pizzas out. Want me to carry yours?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“Nah. It’s no problem.” Jack voiced his thanks and once their names were called they stood up and got their food before walking out and headed back toward Jack’s apartment, carrying on the argument on the best way to watch Star Wars.

“You’re lucky I’m not inviting Ana, she _hates_ episode 1, she forces me to skip it every time by taking my copy and hiding it. When we were in college she hid my copy for a month until she told me her way was better.”

“But Duel of the Fates.”

“Exactly! But no, her hatred of Jar-Jar overcomes the amazing fight scene that even though I can’t see I know it’s amazing.”

“You can hear it though and that says something.”

“Ya know, maybe I will invite Ana just so I have someone on my side to make sure that I have episode one ready to go.” Gabriel chuckled, making a smile spread across Jack’s face. He was right, Gabriel had a good laugh, granted it was short lived, but Jack couldn’t help but to smile at it.

Once they got back to the apartment Jack let Soldier out of his harness and almost immediately bumped into Gabriel’s chest. A hand on one of his shoulders steadied him with some comforting words he wasn’t able to process as his hands were on Gabriel’s chest to steady him.

“Before they were flat, what did I tell ya?” Gabriel asked with a smile in his voice as he helped Jack grab onto the bottle in his hands. Jack took a drink and aimed his face down, his face feeling really warm.

He was right. Not flat in the slightest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this worked. The beginning should look like a phone conversation if you allow skins to be a thing. I got the code to do this from [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6434845/chapters/14729722) so you should check it out if you want to add this to your own fics. 
> 
> This chapter was hard for me to write so I am sorry if it's lame or boring. I have an idea what I am doing for plot now, so I am going to start implementing it in the next couple of chapters. I think the next one is going to be from Gabe's perspective because I just kind of want to. If it works out I'll keep it if not I will just continue on with what I have planned. 
> 
> Thank y'all for reading this so far!


	4. Chapter 4

Jack chuckled as he played with Soldier, it was his day off, and he decided that Soldier needed some time off to relax. He knew that they were still in an unfamiliar place, and the dog was still a little apprehensive. He needed a little play to reassure him that things were okay.

“Want to go to the park boy? We will have more room,” Jack coo’ed to the dog as he tugged on his rope. The park was close enough to where he really didn’t need Soldier to guide him, but if he didn’t he would feel a little nervous. “Go get your harness.” The dog was heard trotting off as Jack stood up. He got his companion dressed and moved to get a few more things together, a bowl and some water, his toys and his cane just in case.

“Alright, lets go boy.” He grabbed his harness and started walking to the park. He was pretty confident in knowing his way, and there was a big enough field beside the playground to where he could keep Soldier away from the kids, and if they did get interested, he’d let them play, keeping track of where his toys were by sound.

At the sound of grass under his feet he knelt and took Soldier out of his harness and pulled out a ball. “Go get it!”  He threw the ball as far as he could before pulling his cane out and let it click together. He listened at Soldier ran off, and then returned. He knelt and let Soldier drop the ball in his hand and then threw it again. He listened to the grass crunch under his dog’s feet as he tore off to get the ball. Once he felt the ball in his hands and repeated the process a few times before he started scratching Soldier’s stomach. The sound of footsteps approached him and Jack raised his head, waiting for whoever was there to talk to him.

“Can I pet your puppy?” asked a child’s voice.

“Yeah, you can also throw his ball if you want,” Jack responded with a smile before he stood up and held onto his cane. He held out the ball so they could take it when they were ready, if they wanted to, and once the weight of the rubber ball was gone, he picked up his backpack and started getting a drink ready for Soldier. When Soldier came back he whistled and the dog came over and started gulping down water.

“What’s your cane for mister? You don’t look old.”

“Alex, you don’t ask people-“ The mother cut off as Jack held up his hand.

‘It’s fine, I don’t mind talking about this. I need the cane and my dog here, because I can’t see. My eyes are broken, they always have been. See, my dog, Soldier wears this special vest sometimes,” he paused and held up the vest for the child, “and the vest means he’s working. Soldier keeps me from walking into the street when cars are coming, like your mom does. But he’s still a dog so he needs breaks. This is one of his breaks, and when he is able to have fun like I dog, I still need to make sure I am not going to bump into anything so that’s why I have this cane. Make sense?”

“So the puppy is your eyes?”

“To a point, I don’t see what he sees, but he knows that I need him to help me see.”

“Okay…”

“Just remember, if you see a dog with a vest on, they are working, and shouldn’t be bothered alright kiddo?”

“Alright!” Jack smiled and told the kid that they could toss the ball as soon as Soldier was done drinking. He smiled as he was happy to hear Soldier pant and romp around in the grass. It wasn’t often that he was able to be a dog, and it made him happy that he was able to have moments like these.

It also reminded him that Soldier was getting up there in age. Come Christmas time he was going to be 8 years old, and honestly, he should be looking to retire the dog. He was unsure what he was going to do with him. He could send him back to the company that trained him, but after all that they’ve been through he didn’t want to see him go. At the end of the day Soldier was his best friend, and he literally trusted the dog with his life. He honestly didn’t want to look into getting a new guide dog. He still had a couple of years, the dog was healthy, but it was hard to think about. He knew that Soldier was going to need people around him even after retirement. He had been around people all his life, and suddenly being alone isn’t going to be good for him. Unfortunately, Jack can’t just work from home. He was going to have to find someone close to take him if he still wanted to be close to him.

He sighed and angled his face down, feeling the air pass over his face. He called Soldier over and knelt, scratching the dog behind his ears and let him give him a few licks on the cheek. He laughed lightly and scratched him a little harder. “You’re such a good boy, you know that?” he asked before pressing his forehead against the dog’s, who only licked him on the nose. Jack laughed and wiped his nose before grabbing his harness. “Wanna go home boy?” There was a bark and movement in front of him before he put the vest on.

“Thank-you for letting me play with your puppy mister,” the child said.

“It’s no problem. Have a good day okay?”

“Okay!”

\---

_Jack should’ve been paying more attention, he should’ve waited just a second longer for Soldier to get his bearings before asking him to move forward. He wasn’t hurt, he just wasn’t okay at the moment._

“Okay Soldier, forward,” he said. The dog paused before taking a step off of the curb. They only made it three steps before the loyal dog barked and pulled Jack backwards. Screeching of rubber against the sidewalk from both sides of the man was all he heard as two cars smashed together.

Debris flew past his face, some of it catching in his face. Beside him, his dog was barking. The poor animal was pacing slightly, unsure how to help his owner for a second what was doubled over shielding his neck. After determining that the immediate danger passed, the dog ran over and took his owners sleeve in his soft mouth and started tugging.

Jack was breathing heavy, hyperventilating. The sounds of a busy crowd surrounded him, car horns and barking all meshed together with the voices. He barely registered the pulling coming from Soldier. He reached toward what was pulling him, and once his hand met fur, he knew he was safe. He let the dog lead him to the curb where he sat down.

What happened?

Why didn’t Soldier prevent him from walking?

It didn’t matter, the dog just probably saved his life because of his quick reflexes.

Jack blindly felt for Soldier and pulled him into a hug. “You’re such a good boy. Good boy Soldier,” he whispered to the dog. A light sway was felt with Soldier, his tail wagging from the praise as he licked his cheek.

“—are you okay?” asked a voice beside him poking through the noise. Jack jumped sharply as the voice appeared in his world by touching his shoulder, startling him. “Jack are you –”

“How do you know my name?” The words were registering, his voice was quiet and weak with fear from the recent experience, but the voice of the stranger was lost on him. He didn’t know who they were.

“It’s me Jack, Gabriel Reyes.” Jack took a few deep breaths. “Can I look at your face? It looks like you have a few scrapes.” Jack hesitated as the question sank in. He slowly nodded. A few seconds later, a hand gently cupped his face and turned it. “You have a little glass from the windshield in your face, nothing the paramedics can’t fix. Want me to stay with you?” Jack lightly voiced that he would.

A warm body sat next to him, lightly putting an arm around his shoulders. Jack leaned into the embrace, moving his legs so Soldier could sit between his legs. His hands kept occupied running through Soldier’s fur.

“I thought it was safe,” he mumbled weakly.

“It looked safe, the car ran a stop sign. You both had no reason to expect that. Soldier did a good job.”

“They are going to want to retire him…it was a mistake…he’s old. I don’t want to lose him.” Jack’s hands tightened on Soldier.

“Hey, hey no they’re not. These are new streets, and the driver was in the wrong.”

“Still…he’s getting too old for this…too dangerous.”

“Shh…it’ll be okay. He is still amazing and nice. Why don’t you adopt him? Isn’t that what happens to old service dogs?” Jack hummed to affirm what Gabriel said.

“I’m not home enough.”

“What?”

“I work too much. Soldier, needs to be around people. It was a part of his training,” Jack sniffled. A hand gently wiped the tears from his face as sirens were heard in the distance, the first responders.

“It’ll be okay. I promise.” He felt something press against his temple as his shoulders were gently rubbed to comfort him. “The paramedics are here, want me to stay with you?”

“Yes please,” he said quietly.

A doctor walked over to them, kneeling in front of the two of them if how close his voice sounded meant anything. Jack told him that his blindness manifested with an abnormality in his optic nerve, that his eyes appeared normal and the pupil from what he was told should respond. What shrapnel that was in his skin was quickly removed and bandages put over the wounds. He was told that he should take the day off of work to let the shock run through his system, and he was free to go.

Gabriel walked with the duo back to Jack’s apartment, his arm never leaving the other’s shoulders. “Hey…tomorrow would you mind coming over?” Jack asked. “I don’t want to be alone. If not, I can ask Ana…”

“I’ll do better. I will get some snacks and we can have that Star Wars marathon, sound good?” Gabriel was trying to make his voice light for him, a smile albeit forced, was heard in his voice. Jack couldn’t help but return the smile.

“Yeah, I’d like that, thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not 100% happy with this chapter. I feel like I should rewrite it again because it's one of those that I feel I am overstepping the boundaries of what's okay for a sighted person to write, and if that's the case I can totally find a way to rework it. I just wanted a chapter that kind of acts as foreshadowing to what is to come. 
> 
> So, sorry for the lower quality of this chapter, the next one is going to be somewhat fluffy, and totally pinning.


	5. Chapter 5

The crash wasn’t anything new for him, it was something that just happened. What jarred him more than anything, was that he was still trying to figure out where he was when he was out, Los Angeles was still somewhat unfamiliar. No, it was mostly unfamiliar, his small slice of where he’s walked around is what is somewhat unfamiliar as he was still learning. When something came up like this, it always jarred him. It served as a reminder that he wasn’t always going to be safe. That, by just moving he was putting himself at a risk.

Loud pounding caused Jack to jump. Soldier gently pressed his weight into his lap, patting his hand to remind him that he was alright, and the dog was simply there to help. He scratched him behind his ears and slowly gets up off the couch. He opened the door.

“Hello?” he asked quietly.

“Shit Jack, you look like shit, did you sleep at all?” Gabriel asked his voice gentle. Jack shrugged. He tried, but whenever he did nightmares would soon follow. So, he gave up after a few cycles. He was tired. “I brought food. I need your kitchen to make it. I will need to borrow a crock pot and a pan.” Jack stepped aside for Gabriel to walk in.

“I have them, you might have to clean them because I have it more for normalcy than anything. They were given to me.”

“Cool, where are they?”

“Cabinets near the stove,” He shrugged as he leaned against the door facing into the kitchen.

“I’ll wash them, don’t worry. Do you need anything?” he asked Jack, his voice gentle. Jack shrugged and rubbed the side of his arm. Gabriel was heard walking toward him and Jack turned to face him. “Can I hug you?” he asked. There was some hesitation before Jack nodded.

Gabriel had a firm chest, it was too be expected since he worked at a gym. The hold on him was firm. Gabriel’s smell was warm, and musty in a way that really only served to distract Jack in reminding him of _just_ how long it’s been since he had dated. Jack gently pushed away from Gabriel as he felt his face warm up. He cleared his throat and shifted his weight between his feet.

“Thank-you. Do you need any help?” he asked quietly. Gabriel hummed, his voice distant from having moved.  He started cleaning.

“Nah, I got it. Just don’t tell my Mamá I am making them like this. She will have my head,” he said clearly joking. Jack did tilt his head at the difference in tone on the word “Mamá.” He wasn’t too familiar with the inflection. “What’s with the face?”

“I am trying to place where I heard Mama said like that,” Jack said honestly as he moved to sit down on the couch.

“I’m Hispanic. I speak Spanish at home, and well sometimes it translates to my normal speech I guess.” Jack hummed and sat back, almost unable to stop himself from what he was about to say.

“Speak Spanish for me sometime?”

Jack’s heart stopped, as did the sound of cooking, minus the sound of the sizzle of beef in a pan. His face felt like it was on fire. Knowing that Gabriel could not only see him over a half-wall, but his face was probably really red he simply hid his face in his head.

“Maybe someday,” Gabriel said clearly smiling in his voice. This helped soothe his nerves, but he still hid his face. A light chuckle was heard from the kitchen as the stirring continued. It was times like this where Jack wished he could see. He knew based on the heat on his cheeks, that Gabriel was having a good time seeing his face. He wondered how Gabriel looked at that moment.

Jack smiled to himself. In the five minutes that Gabriel had been there, he had managed to make him a lot calmer than he had been since the accident. He wasn’t sure where Soldier was, but that was alright. The banter, the warmth in Gabriel’s voice was all he needed.

“Alright, so why would your mom kill you for these nachos?” Jack asked trying to keep the sappiness of his thoughts from his expression.

“I am using a crock pot to melt the cheese and all we’re going to do is drizzle the meat and cheese over the chips. She likes to dress each individual chip, says this way is for white and lazy people. I am also skipping out of jalapeños, and spices. I’ve learned the hard way who can and can’t handle spice,” Gabriel said with a light amusement to his voice.

\---

Jack wrapped a blanket around his shoulders as he sat back in his couch. To his left, the cushion was dipped down from Gabriel. They were sitting close, but not too close. There was no accidental brushing of legs, or anything. They were close enough to where if Gabriel, who apparently liked it to be cold, got cold he could take come of Jack’s blanket and they could share.

The opening cord caused Jack to smile and to bring the blanket tighter around his shoulders. The moment he honestly was really excited about was there, hearing Gabriel’s warm comforting voice read the opening lines of Star Wars was finally there.

“’Episode four, A New Hope. It is a period of civil war. Rebel Spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the Death Star, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet. Pursued by the Empire’s sinister agents, Princess Lei races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy.’” There was a pause as Gabriel let the song finish out and pan to a new scene. “Sorry if that was awkward, the screen crawl is a little slow at times.”

“No, it was fine,” Jack said with a slight shake of his head. It was perfect. His voice was just as he expected. It was warm and flowed nicely. It was something that Jack could easily fall asleep to. “It was a lot better than having my phone read it to me, thank-you.”

“Oh course.”

They made small talk in the movie, a good portion of it was dedicated toward how much Gabriel liked Luke’s ass and how Jack had no idea why he would say that.

“It’s a butt,” Jack said with a scoff. “I don’t know why people say they like them. They are just like an arm isn’t it?”

“It is totally not like an arm!” Gabriel said scoffing. “An ass…” there was a pause trying to figure out how to phrase his words. “Alright, think of a voice, or a general presence of someone. How you identify a person.”

“Okay.” Jack nodded immediately thinking of Gabriel. This was partly because he was close, partly because Jack generally thought Gabriel was a good presence to be around.

“Now, what about a person really makes you attracted to them?”

“A voice.”

“But a voice is just like everything else about a person’s presence.”

“Touche,” Jack said with a chuckle. Gabriel chuckled back and they continued to watch the movie. “Your voice is nice.”

“And your butt’s nice.”

Both men chuckled together and Jack leaned back in the couch and crossed his arms, smiling to himself. The atmosphere of the room changed slightly, became heavier. He was more aware of the heft that was Gabriel’s body next to him, the heat radiating from his body.

The movies continued with some familiar banter. The heavy atmosphere that wasn’t negative turned back into a neutral casual one. As the movies went forward and the plot unfolded, the late night and restless sleep that Jack had was catching up to him. His limbs started to feel heavy, his head included.

He hadn’t realized that he was laying on Gabriel until he felt an arm around him. That sleep was immediately interrupted and he sat up, and mumbled an apology.

“It’s okay, you’re tired. It’s no big deal.”

“Yeah..but…” Jack didn’t finish as Gabriel rubbed his back gently and his protests died on his tongue.

“Go to sleep Jack,” he said quietly. “I can handle you laying on my shoulder. I am a big boy.” Jack scoffed, not really meaning anything behind it. Regardless, he fell asleep against Gabriel.

\---

Gabriel stopped watching the movies a long time ago, he paused the movies once he saw that Jack’s breathing evened out. The guy had nice cheekbones, a strong face. Jack didn’t know what this meant to him, but Gabriel thought he was cute. He had a smile that lit up a room, and a presence that was generally warm.

Had they both not been set up by Ana to be a couple, he might’ve asked Jack out by now. However, because Ana was trying to set them up, it complicated things. They both had awkward experiences with her trying to play matchmaker. It always ended with her enjoying what had just happened, and not the people she was just trying to hook up. It was always bad, and awkward. Never getting past the first date.

Gabriel didn’t want that with Jack. If they went out, he wanted it to mean something.

He wasn’t sure if Jack was interested, and he wasn’t going to bring it up with what’s been going on with Ana and her meddling. So, he was just going to let the relationship take its course. If this was just some grade school crush he was used to having, it would fade, and he and Jack would simply be friends.

Gabriel was alright with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry if this was messy or sloppy. I literally gave it a glance over before I posted it.
> 
> My goal is to come out with a chapter every other week with this story, but I am not going to hold myself to that if I simply cannot make it. Either way, as always I hope you enjoyed this!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did use the phone skin again. If you can't see it, or just don't like it (totally don't blame you) you can get rid of it by removing author's formatting, I have it set to here there is an alternative text without the skin.

Gabriel groaned quietly and started to move to rub his eyes. He paused when he felt an unfamiliar weight on his chest. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the blonde as he was curled on Gabriel’s chest. He vaguely remembered planning to leave last night and a sleepy Jack whining at him to stay. He was just as tired as Jack, and despite not living far, he stayed. A small smile spread across his face as he gently rubbed Jack’s back.

His phone vibrated on the side table above his head and he moved to reach for it without disturbing Jack as he slept. He heard the jingle of Soldier’s tags as he unlocked the phone. Ana was messaging him, and by the looks of it, she was excited.

Conversation between Gabriel and Ana  
  
**Ana:** Gabriel?  
  
**Ana:** Gabriel??  
  
**Ana:** Don’t tell me you agree with Jack’s ridiculous way to watch Star Wars  
  
**Ana:** Oh god…you’re staying over aren’t you?!  
  
**Ana:** Is this a “get lucky” kind of stay over, or just you two were passed the fuck out stay over?  
  
**Ana:** Okay, Jack’s not answering either. This is a tired sleepover.  
  
**Ana:** Seriously Gabriel, just ask him out.  
  
**Ana:** I see the way you look at him.   
  
**Ana:** You’re not fooling anyone.  
  
**Gabriel:** Ana calm down. Yes I slept over, and no I am not going to ask him out.

“Gabriel?” Jack mumbled before gently rubbing his hands on Gabriel’s chest. A small smile spread across his face. “You stayed…” His voice was heavy with exhaustion, but he was adorable. “Want some breakfast? I have Eggos.”

Gabriel smiled and ruffled Jack’s hair. “I’d love some.” He felt his face soften as Jack hugged him. The compliments they gave each other weighted on his mind. They both said that the thing they found attractive in a person were qualities the other had, but he had kept his voice light and Jack mirrored it. It could easily have been mistaken for a joke.

Jack stretched and stood up. “Coffee?” he mumbled. Gabriel started to nod before catching himself and voiced that he did want some. “I don’t have creamer, but I do have milk.”

“That’s fine, thank-you.” Jack hummed his agreement as he gave a light whistle toward Soldier who followed him into the kitchen. Gabriel looked up at Jack’s ceiling for a second. His thoughts were spinning on whether or not he should bring up what was said the night before. He sighed and watched Jack scratch behind Soldier’s ears. Gabriel felt his expression soften. “Hey Jack?”

Jack hummed as he moved to get the coffee out of the cabinet and looked in Gabriel’s general direction as he started scooping the coffee into the machine. “Last night…” Jack frowned and looked down.

“Yeah?” he asked slowly, his voice hesitant. Before Gabriel could ask his question Jack put his hands on the counter and looked down. “Look, if this is about last night, forget it. We’ve talked about the whole dating thing already and we both agreed to not.” Jack sounded like saying that hurt him. His voice was quiet and his words dipped in sadness. Gabriel slowly stood up and walked over to the half-wall that separated the kitchen from the living room.

“So hypothetically, if I asked you out the answer would be ‘no’ then?” he asked suddenly without missing a beat. Jack stopped that he was doing and looked up toward Gabriel. The words he had just said caught up to him and he blinked quickly trying to figure out where to go from there. “I-I mean, as I said, hypothetically.”

“What if hypothetically I said I was free Friday night and had no plans?” Jack said smirking at the discomfort he no doubt heard in Gabriel’s voice. Gabriel cleared his throat and scratched his head.

“Then, uh…hypothetically I’d say pick you up at seven?”

“Then, hypothetically, it is a date.” Jack smiled at Gabriel, and the man was trying to figure out if Jack was trying to be sly or not. The smile was pulled to one side of his mouth, and from Gabriel’s perspective, he looked cute.

Gabriel cleared his throat and stopped smiling for a second. “Hey, where’s your bathroom?”

“Down the hall to the right.” Gabriel said his thanks and started walking down the hall where he pulled out his phone.  

Conversation between Gabriel and Ana  
  
**Gabriel:** Hypothetically, I hate you  
**Ana:** What?  
  
**Ana:** Gabe, what the fuck?  
  
**Ana:** Wait…you didn’t!  
  
**Ana:** Oh Mr. ‘I’m not gonna ask him out’ totally went through with it. Uh-huh.  
  
**Gabriel:** Hypothetical over, I seriously hate you  
  


\---

Jack had butterflies in his stomach. He felt so light as he finished using the toaster to make breakfast, and set the table, or more accurately the counter that separated the living room from the kitchen. He felt his smile across his face.

Waking up against Gabriel’s chest was nice. His chest was firm and warm. He felt strong and was something that Jack wouldn’t mind waking up to on multiple days at a time. He was curious as to how Gabriel felt, more that just a casual touch. He wondered if it would have the same effect on him as his voice.

“Breakfast ready?” Gabe asked causing Jack to jump and blush a little from his thoughts. He cleared his throat to try to cover his blush.

“Yeah, just pick a plate and mug, I made them both the same.”

“Thank-you,” Gabriel said warmly with a slight chuckle. “Hey, now we hypothetically have a date, if you want me to leave so things won’t be hypothetically awkward I can.”

“No!” Jack paused and looked down. “I mean, if you don’t want to. I…was actually wanting to go get some ice cream or something sweet like that.”

“I have a few places in mind. Both bakery and ice cream parlor, but which one we go to is up to you.” Gabriel said. “I will probably leave in a little bit to get some more clothes and shower, give you the same opportunity. Then, we can meet up again and get some food.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

“Then, it’s a date I guess.”

“So, Friday at 7 is still hypothetical?”

“Mmmm…maybe depends on how the cake date goes first before we talk about Friday okay?”

“So to avoid it, I can just pick ice cream yeah?” Gabriel chuckled and nudged him with his shoulder, causing Jack to join in with the light laughter. “You’re going to cancel on me?”

“Hey, I don’t know what kind of guy you are. You could be creepy for all I know.” Jack scoffed and knocked against Gabriel. “Hurry up and eat so I can shower.” There was another chuckle.

Today was going to be a good day. Jack just knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this seems uneventful, or bad. I don't know how I feel about this chapter, but this is the only way I could keep the story moving in the direction I want it to.
> 
> Edit: Just so this is clear for now (since it's going to be at least 3 weeks until an update so I can make it really set in stone) Gabe totally asked Jack out, and the seriousness of his intentions to date Jack (and Jack's intentions on Gabe) are going to be pretty clear at the end of the next chapter. Sorry for any confusion! 
> 
> As always, thank you for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

Gabriel smelled different, and there was also some tension between the two of them as they were walking. It wasn’t sexual tension, there was an unsaid word they weren’t ready for that talk. There was an awkwardness though. He counted the number of times Gabriel brushed against his hand as well. 15.

Jack tilted his head as he took the bold move and held Gabriel’s hand once he brushed against his hand once more. He felt Gabriel tense and he moved to let go before Gabriel laced his fingers with his. A smile spread across Jack’s face. He raised his chin into the light. The warmth of the sun hit his skin, a light breeze passing through his hair.

Soldier paused as cars passed them on the street. Gabriel squeezed his hand, feeling Jack tense up slightly when one drove a little too close to the curb. “It’s okay, I got you. Between me and Soldier, you’re not going to be in danger,” he assured him. Jack hummed happily. “Also you clean up nice.”

Jack scoffed as he brushed his arm with Gabriel’s. “I am just wearing a nice shirt and some jeans. If you want to see clean Jack, make our date in a restaurant.”

“Oh, so this isn’t a date?”

“Nah, just two bros getting ice cream and holding hands.”

“Ahh, and is there a chance these two bros can end this ice-cream outing with a kiss?” Jack hummed as if considering Gabriel’s chances. In all honesty, it did feel like a date, the butterflies in his stomach, the casual flirting. He generally felt comfortable around Gabriel, which is something that couldn’t be said toward any of his exes at this point in the relationship.

“Maybe if the bros are good to one another,” Jack finally responded before he bumped his hip against Gabriel. There was a deep laugh next to him that made his heart swell. Hearing his laughter caused him to calm down his nerves.

“We’re almost there, we’re kind of near the park,” he was told. Jack thanked for the details of his whereabouts. It was something that sighted people seemed to overlook when it came to him. He noticed that Gabriel seemed to have some idea on how to act to keep Jack comfortable. He didn’t want to ask, figured that if Gabriel wanted to talk about it he would.

They stopped as a breeze of cool air passed over Jack’s face. “If you have a specific flavor in mind I can see if they have it,” he said after Jack and Soldier walked in.

“Thank-you. Saves me from being vanilla,” He said with a smirk. Gabriel laughed and headbutted his shoulder.

“Oh you like a little excitement?”

“Only in treats,” he said slyly.

“Something tells me if you knew what a wink is, you’d be winking.”

“If a wink means ‘I am totally making a sex joke’ then yes,” he said sarcasm dripping from his voice.

“There are children around Jack,” Gabriel said, his tone suggesting he was rolling his eyes. “What kind of ice cream do you want?”

“Do they have sherbet?”

“You like sherbet?”

“Duh, best kind.”

“Yes.”

“Cool, triple scoop.”

“Seriously?”

“Don’t dictate my sweet tooth Mr. Reyes.”

“Hey! Mr. Reyes is my Dad.” Jack laughed. Someone walked over and took their orders.

They found a table and sat down. Jack was smiling as he ate his ice cream, leaning against Gabriel’s side. He was completely at ease. Gabriel wrapped an arm around him. It was a nice warm embrace, he was completely comfortable around him. He didn’t mind that he couldn’t really see anything, he was happy just listening.

“We should go to the park someday. I think hanging out under a tree would be nice. The sun on our faces, warmth on my skin and warmth in my heart.” Gabriel chuckled and Jack felt him shake his head. “What?”

“You’re so fucking adorable.”

“Well, you gotta enjoy the little things, and I like the sun on my face.”

“Okay cat Morrison.”

“I’d totally get a cat though. If I could. Cats are too quiet for me.” Gabriel held Jack’s free hand, gently rubbing his thumb on the back of his hand. They simply sat there quietly, simply enjoying each other’s presence. There were no words, just quietly enjoying the treat. It was nice.

There was that joke in the morning, hypothetically asking each other out. Then, there was all of this casual flirting, and even hand holding. Jack was definitely interested in one Gabriel Reyes, and he was looking forward to Friday even though it wasn’t set in stone. He wanted to at least try, one date. Sure, Ana was continuing being the worst Wingman ever, and he should really talk to her about it. She was his best friend after all.

He decided that, despite wanting to ask Gabriel before he left, he was going to call him later to make sure there was going to be a date on Friday.

“Jack?” Gabriel asked quietly.

“Hmm?”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Plans when I get home,” he said casually. Technically not a lie. “I have to get ready for work tomorrow, and there’s still things I’m not completely clear on.”

“Work not accommodating?”

“They are, to a point. There’s still things that they haven’t gotten for me so I can ‘see’ what’s going on. It’s almost as if they expect Soldier to ‘see’ for me and tell me what’s going on.”

“That’s fucked up.” There was a thought. “If I could find someone to help you…do you think you could get your company on your side?”

“Yeah, no problem,” Jack said easily. The then paused and shifted so that he wasn’t leaning on Gabriel. “What…do you have in mind.” He felt Gabriel shift on his side, letting go of him and resting his arms on the table in front of him.

“There’s a kid at work that I am worried about,” Gabriel said. “Without going too much into it, he needs to get out of that neighborhood. If you want, I’ll take full responsibility for him, teach him what exactly you need him to do. I just…don’t want him going down the path I see him heading toward.”

There was a note in Gabriel’s voice that said he was speaking from experience. Normally Jack would ask questions, to him this was like someone had an expression on their face that portrayed their emotions. However, the tone was also something Jack felt it was not any of his business, and that he should just let it go, for now.

“Yeah, I can talk to them tomorrow,” Jack said in an attempt to keep this conversation casual.

“Thank you so much Jack,” he responded, relief heard in his voice. Jack sat for a moment, trying to decide if the relief was toward Jack’s agreement, or his decision to not ask questions. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” he said with a smile. He waited for Gabriel to get up before calling Soldier over. They walked home, making small talk. Plans for the week, what they were going to have for dinner later. If Soldier was adapting to the city well.

They got Jack back to his apartment no problem.

“Well, I guess I will see you around,” Gabriel said. Jack got an impulsive thought.

“Wait,” Jack said turning, leaving Soldier at the door. He heard Gabriel pause as he reached over and pulled him down. His fingers brushed against the other man’s face, finding his lips and pressing a light kiss there. His face heated up as he smiled. “See you Friday?”

“Y-yeah, it’s a date,” Gabriel said sounding as flustered as Jack felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter came a little later than expected. School has been getting more and more intense. I might have to go to an irregular schedule as much as I hate to do that. I like having this regularity. 
> 
> That being said, I haven't had a lot of time to revise/edit this, so if you see anything like a typo, or anything confusing let me know. I know y'all are going to be on the side of Quality over Quantity, but I dunno, I don't want to disappoint you guys, or get into a really bad writer's block. Right now the only fic I really have a flow of ideas for is my McHanzo I have going on rn honestly. 
> 
> Either way, I hope you enjoyed this. I plan on having Date chapter, and then some angst and once the angst is resolved, end it. So we're getting close to the main conflict/resolution part of plot.


	8. Chapter 8

Jack heard a small stack of papers get put on the desk next to him. “Copies are done boss, ‘nything else ya need?” asked a young man with a thick southern drawl. Jack knew from the first day he wasn’t happy with his new job, but the way he put it the pay was a lot better than his old one so he wasn’t complaining. Also, it helped that Gabriel told Jack exactly what he was saving the kid from.

“Not right now Jesse, thank you.” Jack picked up a sheet and gently ran his hands over the brail. There were a few misspellings, but considering Jesse used a chart and a brail machine to make them, it was better than nothing. “Soldier might need to go out if you need to. I have my cane if I need to leave, and I can leave a message on your computer if it’s a surprise meeting.” The air around Jesse lightened as he called Soldier over with a whistle and took the harness off of the dog, replacing it with a standard leash.

“No problem boss,” he said sounding instantly a lot happier. It was no surprise to Jack that Jesse always came in smelling like cigar smoke, and he wasn’t one to judge. He figured, it would be a lot better for both of them if he allowed Jesse an excuse to go take a smoke, and Soldier’s bodily functions seemed to fit the bill.

“Just be back for lunch, I plan on going out.” There was a call of confirmation as Jesse walked out with Soldier. The dog was very tolerant of Jesse, and seemed to like him. That was honestly all that mattered to Jack. If Soldier didn’t like someone he stayed away.

Jack settled down and started working on some paperwork before his cell rang. He paused and turned his head toward the sound. It was Ana’s ringtone, and she knew that he was at work. She couldn’t be calling if it wasn’t an emergency. He frowned and furrowed his brow as he picked it up.

“Ana?” he asked slowly, trying to seem calm but also let her know he was suspicious that she was calling him.

“Jack! Hey, I have a favor to ask…I already called the school but can you pick up Fareha from school?” she asked seeming a little panicked.

“Uh, sure…can I ask why?”

“It’s….uhm….I am not at liberty to say….” Jack frowned.

“Okay…don’t worry I’ll get her. Does she know to look for me and Soldier?”

“Yes. I gotta go.” As she was hanging up he heard the intercom of what his instinct said was a hospital. Immediately, his stomach dropped. Something was wrong. Jack kept his phone in his hand, his body almost shaking, but not quite. He took a deep breath and just to ease his mind he found Gabriel’s name and called him.

When Gabriel was introducing Jesse to him, there was some talk about Gabriel’s past.

_“You were what?”_

_“I know, I know. Completely cliché Latino edgy man in LA was in a fucking gang. Trust me, if you could see me and the tattoos I had and scars you’d be far away from me,” Gabriel said with a sigh. The way his voice carried, Jack wanted to say he was looking away from him, disappointed._

_“Hey,” Jack said in a comforting voice as he moved to sit closer to him, his hands in Gabriel’s. He lifted them and gave his knuckles a kiss. “I don’t care what you look like, and I am not saying that because I am blind. Because I am blind I am able to see people for who they really are. As cheesy as it sounds, I see people for who they are here.” Jack let go of Gabriel’s hands with one of his and pressed it against Gabriel’s chest. “You’re a good man. And Ana’s completely right…you need to get laid….by me.”_

_Jack’s laughter was loud enough to fill the apartment, and squash any and all self-doubt Gabriel had as he was pinned to the couch they were sitting on. Gabriel’s lips were soft against his. Jack pulled him closer so their chests were flush against his. A low chuckle came from above him._

_A gentle hand caressed his cheek as they pressed their foreheads together._

_“Maybe later boyscout.”_

_“That’s not a ‘no’.”_

There was no answer. He took a deep breath as the message tone beeped at him. “Hey Gabe, Ana just called me and I just got freaked out. My gut said I should call you and I’ve learned not to ignore it. So, call me when you can. Thanks,” he hung up and looked down.

Ana would have told him something was up if there was. She didn’t, so therefore he shouldn’t worry. He needed to take off early because of Fareeha though. He pushed his chair back and picked up his cane. He walked through the office building before he found his boss.

“Morrison! How can I help you?” Jack walked until his cane hit the desk and then found a chair.

“I just got a call from my friend, and she asked if I could pick up her daughter from school. I’ll need to leave a little early to ensure I can get there on time.”

“Is everything alright?”

Jack exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. “That’s the thing. She didn’t tell me. She sounded a little out of it, and as she was hanging up, I am pretty sure I heard the intercom of a hospital. I don’t know what’s going on, so probably won’t be much use for you sir. I can bring work home with me.”

“I understand Mr. Morrison. Go ahead and leave when you need to. Will Mr. McCree be taking off with you?”

“Unless you need him to translate any more documents, I was going to give him the day off.”

“No, it’s fine. Go. I hope everything is alright.”

“I do too sir, thank-you.” He got up and without too much trouble made it back to his desk.

The smell of cigar smoke was strong, signaling that Jesse was back early. The outside air was still sticking to his clothes and he was breathing heavy.

“Jesse, what’s wrong?” Jack asked as he tensed when Jesse grabbed his shoulders. He instinctively took a step back trying to get out of his grasp.

“I just got a call from Mrs. Amari, are you okay boss?”

“Me? What do you mean?”

“It’s Reyes.”

Everything stopped.

His stomach sank and he didn’t hear what Jesse was saying, or what was going on. He felt himself being guided to a chair where he was pressed to sit down. His hands were guided to Soldier who immediately leaned up into Jack’s touch, taking over the second part of his job of being there for him emotionally.

“W-what happened?” he whispered, he could barely hear himself.

“I dunno, somethin’ ‘bout a car I think. He was tryin’ to save a kid, or somethin’. He’s in critical care. Is there anythin’ you need me to do?”

Despite being someone who was on the brink of joining gang life, Jesse was gentle and nice to him. He was gentle, and if Jack wasn’t panicking on the worst-case scenario his mind was making up on what happened to Gabriel, he’d comment on why; a recently paralyzed man that Jack was helping designing a tasteful way to get his house more accessible.

Jack’s hands were guided to a glass, and then guided to his lips. Jack took a sip and then took a deep breath. He was okay. The panic subsided enough for him to think and access what to do next. The time was late enough to where he knew that going to pick up Fareha would be a good idea to start, despite how he wanted to go to the hospital and yell at Ana.

“Jesse, you are under no obligation to, but my best friend has a daughter that I am going to pick up from school. Do you mind sticking with me for a while?”

“Course boss. Wouldn’t feel right leavin’ you by your lonesome. ‘Specially after all ya done for me. Do we gotta go now?”

“Yeah, probably. We still need lunch, and then start heading over there, unless you drive.” There was the sound of Jesse scratching his chin.

“I do have a truck, but it’s across town, prolly be better to hoof it.”

“Alright. Where do you want to eat, I’ll pay.”

“You don’t go-“

“I want to Jesse…please.”

There was a long pause. “Alright. Lemme get Soldier all dressed up ‘nd we’ll go get somethin’.” Jack nodded and held his phone in his hands, debating whether or not he should call Ana. He knew that waiting until he could think clearly, and hold a mature conversation.

Jack looked down and felt Soldier near his leg. He reached down and scratched the back of Soldier’s ears. He stood up and held onto his harness. He turned and logged out of his computer and started walking out with Jesse.

“What do you want,” Jack said hoping that Jesse didn’t hear the wavering in his voice.

“I’d say something soft for your stomach, but I am feelin’ tacos. Like street tacos, but I can meet ya half way between that and Taco Hell.”

“Lead the way.”

“O’course.”

Jesse was easy to follow. Everyone had a distinct foot pattern, but his new assistant wore spurs, which made his all the easier to follow. It was still harder to pick out like everything else on the street. Still he was able to hear thee clang of his spurs as he walked. He walked close to him to make sure he didn’t walk away.

Fareeha should help get his mind to calm down. At least until he decides how to confront Ana about keeping the information that Gabriel was in the hospital.

Everything will be okay. He didn’t believe it, but he was going to keep telling himself that. Eventually he would believe himself.

Gabriel was fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry this took forever and a day to get out. I was hit with a wall of things to do for school and major writer's block. So, here it is. I hope you guys enjoy it even though it's a complete turn from what you might've thought. 
> 
> I will probably hold off writing more until after finals week. Wish me luck!


	9. Chapter 9

Jack was unsettled. He and Jesse had picked up Fareeha and they were lounging around Jack’s apartment. Soldier was laying at Jack’s feet, as he was unable to even put on a fake smile for the child. Jesse was more or less entertaining her on the floor, playing with what toys they’d picked up from Ana’s apartment as they waited for Ana’s phone call.

His heart was racing as he considered calling her himself. Not knowing what was going on with Gabriel, was tearing him apart. They were due to their date not even two days and now that was going to be postponed, due to circumstances Jack didn’t even know. Not knowing was something that scared him.

Living in the dark figuratively and literally was something that Jack was familiar with. Being blind lead to people simply leaving him out of what was going on that required sight to understand. Body language, and expressions were lost on him, the mood of the room was something he was able to understand, but it was only understood by the tone of people’s voices. Sly looks to one another was something he would never understand. He hated feeling left out, and even though Jesse was in the same boat, he couldn’t feel like that currently.

“Is Uncle Jack okay?” Fareeha asked quietly toward Jesse.

“Yeah, someone just told him some bad new at work,” Jesse responded just as quietly. “Soldier is trying to make him feel better by being all cuddly.”

“Is he gonna give him puppy kisses too?”

“Maybe.”

Jack scratched Soldier’s head and rested his cheek on the dog’s head. He needed to know what was going on. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t just let Ana get away from this. “I am going to call someone real quick, to see if I can figure out how bad the bad news is.”

“Okay!”

Jack stepped outside and used his phone to call Ana. His heart started hammering in his chest. He took a deep breath to try to calm himself down. It was futile. He was going to be like this until he was able to go see Gabriel.

“ _Jack?”_ Ana asked a little winded, as if there was something she had to work around on her way to answer him.

“Ana, Jesse told me that Gabriel was in the ICU what happened?” As much as worry colored his words, sternness was there too, he wasn’t going to simply let this go. There was a sigh on the other end of the line.

“ _I didn’t tell you because I need you with Fareeha right now. She’ll be just as worried as you are right now Jack. But, since you know I suppose we can trade in an hour. I was Gabriel’s emergency contact. He was helping someone cross the street when a truck was trying to turn. He was the only one who got injured. The doctors say he will be fine, but I want someone here to be with him as he wakes up. I know you two had plans Jack…I’m sorry.”_

Everything stopped.

Gabriel was hurt.

Injuries were another thing that Jack understood differently from other people. He understood what they meant. He knew that someone with a broken leg couldn’t walk and had to be in a wheelchair, but he had to be told. Everyone could see them and ask what happened where Jack would be clueless until told otherwise. So, not knowing how injured Gabriel was going to be unsettled him.  What was even more unsettling was that because Gabriel was in the ICU, Soldier wasn’t going to be able to follow him.

“Ana, if I come to see him with Fareeha, will you watch Soldier as well? He’s not allowed in the ICU, and I don’t want him to be alone with some stranger.”

_“Of course Jack. Let us go out for dinner tonight as well.”_

“Okay…Where do you want to meet? I am sure you don’t want her near the hospital.”

_“I don’t. Let’s meet outside of the bakery by my apartment. I’ll let Fareeha pick out a cake for desert.”_

“Okay…and Ana…tell her. As someone who only gets half the conversations and input. It’s not fun being left out.”

_“..I’ll tell her…I just…”_

“Want to protect her, I understand. Leaving her in the dark isn’t the way to do it.”

_“Thank you Jack. I’ll see you in a little bit.”_

“Okay.”

He hung up and tried to figure out where his cane was. Relying on nurses wasn’t something he was looking forward to, but if it meant he could at least get some information on what was going on with Gabriel, maybe be able to gently feel for himself. The last one he wasn’t so sure on, but the first few things were guaranteed.

“Jesse, Ana is wanting to meet with Fareeha at a bakery, if you want to go ahead and get home you’re welcome to. Thank-you for helping me,” Jack said as he packed up a bag for Soldier, sticking his cane in his pocket. “Soldier, go get your vest.”

“It ain’t a problem. You gonna be alright?” Nothing but concern was heard in the young man’s voice. Jack pressed his lips together as he knelt down and took Soldier’s harness.

“We’ll see. If you want to check in, I’ll let you know when I get back home.”

“I ‘preciate it. Goin’ into work tomorrow?”

“Probably not, if you want to put in time off too, I don’t blame ya.” Jesse hummed as Fareeha returned to the room.

“Hey li’l miss, guess who is prolly gettin’ some cake?”

“Me?”

“Yup! Just gonna be goin’ on a walk with ya Uncle Jack. I’ll be seein’ ya around.” There was a giggle from the little girl as Jesse said his farewells to Jack. He put on a smile on his face as he held out his hand toward her. He felt Fareeha bounce up to him and held his hand.

“Ready?”

“Yeah!”

\---

Jack felt Fareeha push open a door and they walked in. “Over here!” she called and he was pulled toward the back of the store. There was a small hum from Ana. “Hi Mom!”

“Hello, Fareeha. Hello Jack.”

“Hello.”

“He’s on the third floor, just ask a nurse at the front desk. I told them that a friend of his who can’t see is visiting and needs someone to tell him what they see.” Jack handed Soldier’s lead.

“Thank you. Keep your promise,” Jack said as he clicked his cane together. He listened to Soldier whine, his feet clicking against the floor. Jack knelt down and scratched behind his ears. “I will be right back buddy, okay? It’s a hospital, and you can’t get into this part of it. I won’t be long. Promise.” He kissed the top of his head before standing up and heading toward the hospital, his phone directing him as he went.

His heart was felt beating through his chest. It was hard to focus on where he was going, and what was going on around him. This was a very dangerous spot for him, and he was trying his hardest to maintain focus. He had to cross the street safely, and then all he had to do was get to the third floor someone else could take it from there.

Gabriel had to be all right. Jack wouldn’t accept anything different.

“Sir, can I help you?” someone asked. The voice was gentle, and kind. Whoever they were, they legitimately sounded like they wanted to help. It could also be that Jack put the sentiment there because of his mental state, but he knew that he was in a safe place. He had no qualms toward them.

“Uhm, yeah. I need someone to be my eyes. I have a…friend here and I just want to know his condition.”

“Of course, may I have the patient’s name?”

“Gabriel Reyes.”

There was a pause as Jack’s heart sank. He held onto his cane tightly and looked down, trying to keep the worry and hurt from his expression, but he didn’t know what that entailed really. He simply relaxed his face, tried to keep everything from his expression.

“Can I please see him, and by see I mean stand in front of his room and you tell me what you see?” Jack asked trying his hardest to keep the desperation from his voice. “Please…I just need to know how he’s doing, he’s the closest friend I’ve made since I’ve moved here.”

There was a pause before a “Yeah, sure. Right this way,” was heard. Jack waited until he felt a presence near him and turned his head toward it.

“Do you mind if I put my hand on your shoulder?”

“Go right ahead.” He muttered a thanks and followed the person through the halls. Finally, he was allowing his head to wander as they weaved through the halls. The air got heavier as they approached the room. The stagnant air of low levels of hope, and a strong sense of life barely hanging on was felt. There was the sound of the door opening, a steady beeping was heard.

“He’s stable, and we’re hopeful for his recovery. He has some road burn on his face, so bandages are there to help stop the bleeding. Other than that, he has some broken ribs, and an arm. Because of the facial injuries and the trauma of being hit, he looks worse than he is.”

Jack nodded and listened to Gabriel’s steady heartrate, and breathing.

He took a few steps into the room and held onto his hand. He was going to be okay, he had to be. He was in good hands.

“Thank-you,” Jack mumbled before moving to run his hand through Gabriel’s hair, pausing at how curly it was. He smiled softly before something dawned on him as he gave a silent farewell to his friend. His behavior, his feelings, everything suddenly fell into place.

Jack had some thinking to do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried my hardest to get this out during the bulk of the holidays earlier this month, but second to the last day of 2017 is close enough! 
> 
> I know that angst to end the year is strangely poetic considering the mess that 2017 was, but the next chapter is due to be happier? Maybe? I am just winging it. 
> 
> Speaking of, I am going to be starting 2018 by twitch streaming. It's just something I've been wanting to get into and stuff. If you want to know more please keep reading, otherwise Thanks for reading! 
> 
> So, I am going to start streaming Final Fantasy IX (9). It's one of my favorite games and I just want to share the experience. If you want to hang out it's going to happen January 4th at 1pm US Central time. [Here](https://www.twitch.tv/events/Ma22nNjLR_C63Xge5SMZ6g) is a link to the event I created on Twitch and [here](https://www.twitch.tv/caliginousconfused) is a link to my twitch page. You can talk about whatever, fics, overwatch fandom in general. The way twitch works is to be in chat you have to sign up, and if you don't want to do that I understand. I have my tumblr and twitter linked at the end of the work, otherwise my name on tumblr is Caliginous-Confused and @CaliginousZack is my twitter handle. 
> 
> Shameless self-promotion Yeah!

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been wanting to write a Jack/Gabe fic for a while so here it is. I have been taking a new outlook on writing recently where I am just doing it for fun and not worrying too much on quality. Basically the quality check is "Would I read this?" and if it's a yes I post it. 
> 
> Anyways if you want to follow me I am Caliginous-Confused on Tumblr and @CaliginousZack on twitter. 
> 
> Thanks for reading I hope y'all liked it.


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